Yesterday I played a little Dodge Ball in the gym with the 8th graders. This was no ordinary day in PE class though, this was the annual 8th grade championships! Dodge Ball is huge among elementary and JHS kids in Japan! It’s also played a little different than my days growing up. Using the techniques I’ve learned from my days dominating the US JHS circuit; while picking up on the differences in rules in Japan – I’ve now become an international Dodge Ball killing machine! For yesterday’s tournament, I was placed on one of the weaker classes. This was OK, as my only focus was to use my size and strength to push every person in my way to the side as I attempted to take over the game on my team’s behalf. Using my cat-like reflexes, I was able to dodge balls that would have hit any average player. Every opportunity I got the ball, I unleashed a Randy Johnson fastball in the direction of a JHS’s students head with heat-seeking precision. I desperately attempted to go it alone, running over every person on my team, pleading with my teammates to “let the Unit throw it!” In the end, all my effort was for nothing as class 2-2 lost in the first-round! After the game, I gathered my team together in an effort to console the players and told them what any sympathizing teacher on a mission to win would have said, “you guys need to hit the weight room!”